Display case



Allg- 21, 1951 H. c. HOLDERLE ETAL 2,564,806

DISPLAY CASE Filed-Jn. 2o, 195o INI/,ENTOR THE/f2 ATTORNEY Patented Aug.21, 1951 DISPLAY CASE Harvey C. Holderle, Frederick S. Holderle,Frederick W. Holderle, and Carl L. Holderle, Rochester, N. Y.

Application January 20, 1950, Serial No. 139,753

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a display case for candy, cookies, and othermerchandise, and has for its purpose to afford a practical and efficientconstruction that is more sanitary than heretofore, eliminates waste,facilitates caring for the case, and enables a more eiective andattractive display of mechandise.

The usual practice has been to provide a display case with permanenttransparent front walls through which the merchandise in the interior ofthe case can be inspected, and such structures have resulted indiiiiculties in cleaning the interior of the case and have requiredcomplicated trays or other structures for holding the candy or othercontents in accessible position within the case for dispensing, and itis a purpose of the invention to afford a construction in which adisplay case has a removable closure at the front consisting of areceptacle adapted to contain a supply of mechandise for displaypurposes, the receptacle in turn having a transparent cover that permitsa customer to observe the merchandise within the closure receptaclewhile inside the display case there may be provided suitable containersor bins from which the candy, cookies, or other goods can be removed.With such a, construction, there is little waste because the contents ofthe closure receptacle can be removed and utilized and there is lesswaste of merchandise than where it is stored in bulk within the displaycase in contact with a xed transparent front wall and subject toatmospheric dust and moisture.

The invention has the further advantage that the candy does not come incontact with the interior of the display case so that the latter can bekept in a more sanitary state, and the candy does not require so muchhandling since the closure receptacles constituting the front wall caneasily be moved from one location to another without removing the candy,or removed to permit emptying the receptacles and cleaning them wheneverrequired, Which is considerably simpler and quicker than with priortypes of display cases having fixed transparent front walls that requirecleaning on both the exterior and interior while in position. A furtheradvantage is that the receptacles can be taken to the stockroom forrelling, thus eliminating the necessity of handling the candy severaltimes, and can also be moved to different locations in the case when itis desirable to make certain candy more prominent than others.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction andarrangement of (Cl. S12- 117) 2 parts that will appear clearly from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claim followingthe specication.

In the drawings: l Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical sectional vie takenthrough a display case and showing a preferred embodiment of theinvention, a closure receptacle being illustrated in full lines inlocked position in the case, and in dotted lines in a position itassumes while being removed from the case;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the display case with one closurereceptacle in position, and the others removed, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like referencenumerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, the

Istructure includes a base l to which is suitably attached a sheet metalcovering comprising the bottom of the case and including a channelextending longitudinally of the case at the front and defined by avertical portion 2 and a rear inclined wall 3. Mounted on the bottom andbase at suitable intervals are a series of uprights or Vsupports 4including vertically inclined forward edges 5, while 6 designates thetop wall of the case supported by the uprights 4 and having attachedthereto a longitudinally extending metal channel including an inclinedtop wall 1, an inclined front wall 8, and an inclined rear wall 9.

The channels just described extend longitudinally of the display case atthe top and bottom of the front opening, such opening being closed by aseries of removable closure receptacles which are adapted to bepositioned in juxtarelation to each other with their tops and bottoms insaid channels, thus closing the front of the case and at the same timeaffording a pleasing display of merchandise corresponding to what iscontained within the case.

In order to accomplish this, each closure receptacle comprises a bodyportion or container l0 preferably made of sheet metal and including abottom Il, inwardly bent iianges I2 at its front along the sides, andflange members I3 secured within the container along its sides oppositesaid flanges I2 and affording guideways to receive a slidably removableglass or transparent cover I4 which can be removed from the receptaclewhen it is desired to clean and refill the latter. The receptacle I0includes an end wall I that is inclined in relation to its back wall II,see Fig. 1, and a portion I6 perpendicular to the wall I5, whereby thereceptacle when in operating position nts in the bottom channel betweenthe front vertical portion 2 and the rear inclined wall 3 of thechannel, while the upper end of the closure receptacle ts between thefront and rear walls 8 and 9 of the upper channel.

The distance between the top Wall of the upper channel and the bottomWall of the lower channel is somewhat greater than the overall length ofthe closure receptacle, so that the latter can be moved endwise topermit its insertion in or removal from the channels, and when inposition, the upper end of the receptacle lies behind the front wall 8of the upper channel and is locked against forward movement therein.Assuming the closure receptacle to be in the operating position shown inFig. 1, it can be removed by rst sliding it upwardly into the upperchannel until the lower portion of the receptacle is raised enough toclear the front portion 2 of the lower channel, whereupon the closurereceptacle can be tilted in the manner shown in dotted lines in Fig. land withdrawn by a downward movement from the upper channel to permitits displacement from the case. On its bottom wall II, the closurereceptacle is provided with a handle Il which can be gripped from therear through the interior of the case, and the receptacle can thus begripped and positioned in or removed from the case through the interiorof the latter and from the rear without difculty. It will be understoodthat candy, cookies, or other mechandise can be kept in removable binsor containers within the case and these can be moved to such position inthe case as to permit removal or insertion of one or more of ftheclosure receptacles when required.

Each closure receptacle such as described above vis adapted to contain asupply of candy or other merchandise for display through the transparentcover I4 which is inserted by an endwise sliding movement in theguideways formed by the flanges I2 and I3 after the container is lledwith the candy or other merchandise. The receptacle can then be insertedas already described in the channels at the top and bottom of theopening at the front of the display case by rst engaging the upper endof the receptacle in the upper channel and sliding it upwardly thereinas far as it will go, after which the lower end of the receptacle can beswung inwardly until it engages the rear inclined wall 3 of the lowerchannel. The receptacle can then be moved down- 'wardly into interlockedengagement with the lower channel and is retained in such positionagainst accidental removal. Whenever desirable or necessary, thereceptacle can be removed and -its contents emptied by sliding thetransparent cover I4 endwise. The contents can then be sold or otherwisesalvaged, the receptacle cleaned iand refilled with merchandise beforerepositioning at the front of the case. In this fashion the display casealways has a multiplicity of displays of merchandise at the front of thecase in a fresh state to indicate to the customer the merchandise withinthe case and which can be dispensed from suitable containers. The casemay be closed at the rear by suitable sliding doors, not shown, that maybe supported on suitable tracks I8 at the top and engage against anupstanding Wall I9 at the bottom, as usual in display case construction,the structure and supporting means for the doors at the rear of the caseconstituting no part of the present invention.

While the structure has been described with reference to the detailsherein disclosed, the invention is not restricted to the exact formherein set forth, and this application is intended to cover suchmodifications or departures as may come within the purposes of theimprovement and the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

A display case having an opening therein, supporting means comprisingmetal channels at the top and bottom of the opening, and a closurecomprising a receptacle having inclined front and rear Walls, ahorizontal bottom wall, a vertical wall connecting said front and bottomwalls, and a transparent removable cover, the receptacle beingpositionable in said channels by a combined swinging and endwisemovement, the top channel including retaining means engageable with thefront and rear inclined surfaces of said receptacle and the bottomchannel including vertical and inclined walls engaging said verticalWall and inclined rear wall of the receptacle respectively, and ahorizontal bottom wall supporting said horizontal bottom wall of thereceptacle and preventing bodily movement of the receptacle laterally ofthe opening, the distance between the top of the upper channel and thebottom of the lower channel being somewhat greater than the length ofthe receptacle to permit endwise movement of the latter when in thechannels, the space between the bottom of the upper channel and the topof the bottom channel being unobstructed and permitting removal of thereceptacle through the rear of the display case, and a handle on therear surface of the receptacle permitting the receptacle to bepositioned or removed from the rear through the interior of the case.

HARVEY C. HOLDERLE. FREDERICK S. HOLDERLE. FREDERICK W. HOLDERLE. CARLL. HOLDERLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,795 Gimnich Nov. 3, 1896729,684 Sherer June 2, 1903 1,222,687 Sherer Apr. 1'7, 1917

